A heatwave across Southern Europe has spawned wildfires across Turkey, Greece and Italy, killing eight people so far.
The wildfires have been caused by the heatwave rampant across Europe. Currently, Turkey, Greece and Italy have been affected.
Authorities say more than 100 blazes have been brought under control since Wednesday. The fires have been exacerbated by strong winds and hot air from North Africa.
In Turkey, the resort city Antalya’s Manavgat, the Marmaris districts, and the inland town of Milas, have been hit the hardest, prompting the evacuation of some residential areas and hotels.
Blazes have also affected the Italian island of Sicily, Croatia and western Greece, where some residents had to be evacuated by boat to escape the flames.
A heat wave across southern Europe led to wildfires across the Mediterranean, forcing people in Italy and Greece to flee by sea to escape the flames pic.twitter.com/TYilI9MUw4
— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) August 2, 2021
Turkish authorities are currently investigating whether the wildfires may have started as sabotage by outlawed Kurdish militants.
However, experts mostly point to climate change along with accidents caused by people.
Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said apparently one of the fires was started by children.
On Monday, the European Union announced that it would send three water-carrying planes to help douse blazes tearing through forests in Turkey, saying they: “stand in full solidarity with Turkey at this very difficult time.”
The aircrafts — one from Croatia and two from Spain — will operate alongside teams from Russia, Iran, Ukraine and Azerbaijan in assisting locals and Turkey’s regional and national efforts to combat the wildfires.
The Turkish government has been criticised for the short supply of firefighting aircraft and resources in the country.
Dozens of wildfires have erupted across southern and western Turkey as a dangerous heatwave lingers over southeastern Europe. Images via @TheAtlPhoto: https://t.co/sF94ssC6Bf pic.twitter.com/w5ZUul4yE6
— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) August 2, 2021
